'Far Cry 3' interview: Where Ubisoft is taking the open-world sequel

Ubisoft's Far Cry 3 pitches players into another beautiful but utterly brutal environment, where they must survive with only their wits and a rather large arsenal of weapons. Far Cry 2 received a largely positive response in 2008, but there was criticism of the structure and dynamism of its open world. So, we caught some time with Ubisoft Montreal producer Dan Hay and lead designer Jamie Keen to hear how they hope the third game will deliver the truly killer Far Cry experience.

You went to Africa for Far Cry 2, but have returned to the original tropical island setting for the third game. Were you not tempted to go somewhere totally different, like Siberia or Amazon Jungle?Dan Hay: "No-one actually set out to go back to a tropical island. We just sat down and discussed all the things that we wanted to do, and all the things that had made past Far Cry games successful.

"We wanted to get somewhere that was remote, exotic, but also intimidating and deadly. We wanted a lush jungle, along with other environments too. In the end, it just turned out that a tropical island was the clear choice."

Some players felt that the open world in the last game was beautiful but quite arduous to traverse between missions. How have you addressed this with Far Cry 3?Dan Hay: "It's all about the balance between freedom and fun. It's great having this huge open world to explore, but not great when exploring it becomes a chore. We have developed the Outpost system that involves the player taking control of enemy outposts.

"You are incentivised to take Outposts from the enemy as it makes your life easier. It opens up the fast travel network so you can get places quickly when you want or need to."

Jamie Keen: "But we also want to give players the freedom to see what is around in this world. We have the main story missions but there is a smorgasbord of other things to do. It's almost like being a kid with ADHD, you know.

"You set off to do a mission but get lost in some other task or distracted by something amazing, and then you look up and see that you have lost a few hours!"

Far Cry 2's world was also accused of lacking dynamism, in that things would happen, such as taking a checkpoint, but the player would return and everything would be back to normal. How have you addressed this?Dan Hay: "This game is all about you making the difference in the environment. Everything you do is reflected in the world around you, and by taking Outposts you can see that your area of influence spreads and changes the game.

"You instantly see the changes in the world. Your allies are posted around the area and merchants sell you more stuff."

Jamie Keen: "We have all these interlocking systems and different phases of gameplay that really make you feel that the world is alive. If you fire your weapon, you have to realize that the action could alert others to your presence, which could mean trouble.

"You could be hunting a goat, but not realize that a tiger is also stalking you. There is always that sense of danger and unpredictability. This is not a static world.

"An enemy camp could have a bear in a cage. If you shoot out the lock, then it will attack them, but it could also attack you. I remember a time when my rebel allies took an Outpost and they were all celebrating, but just at that moment a civilian drove by and accidentally ran one of them over.

"So, the scene turned into a massacre of all the civilians nearby and when the rebels had finished them off, they in turn were attacked by a tiger. You can just never tell what is going to happen."

Jason Brody is the main character this time. He is just a tourist in a very bad situation at the start, but how will he evolve over the campaign?Jamie Keen: "We very much cast Jason as a real person. He is a man on his own, and this is his journey. He is like most people in this situation, totally ill-equipped to deal with it. But he grows as the player grows, in a sort of RPG system that involves getting new tattoos for new skills.

"As he gets these marks, people react to him differently. His friends will say, 'hey, you've changed'. As Jason, you will get better at using the environment, crafting tools and medicines, and learning how the world works."

Dan Hay: "You have your old life, who you were, and who you are now. These things create conflict as you take on more traits of the world."

The thin line between reality and madness appears to be a major narrative theme in the game. Just how far down the rabbit hole does that go?Dan Hay: "Pretty far. The trick is to do that in layers. The difference between crazy and insane is that crazy is in the moment, while insane has a plan.

"Vaas [the man baddie] has his own history, while Citra has her own mystique and intent. We take all these layers, moments and characters to create this particularly witches brew that makes the insanity for us."

Jamie Keen: "We also make sure to leave a lot to the player's imagination. So, there may be a hut in the middle of nowhere with a load of blood and no-one about. We don't always explain this, just let people build their own story and then share it with others.

"It is about treating this as a piece of music. You don't necessarily have to know the notes, but the ebb, flow, and important moments let you appreciate the tune."